Clock.



. H. THOMPSON;

CLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.19,1915.

Patented Aug.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. THOMPSON, OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR 'IO THOMPSONELECTRIC CLOCK COMPANY, OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, A CORPORATION OFTENNESSEE.

CLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 3, 1915.

Original application filed November 9, 1914, Serial No. 871,032. Dividedand this application filed March 19, 1915. Serial No. 15,513.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. THOMP- SON, acitizen of the United States, residing at Memphis, county of Shelby, andState of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inClocks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to clocks.

The present invention is a division of my application, Serial No.871,032, filed November 9, 191 i, for electric automobile clocks.

While the subject-matter of the present invention is particularlyadapted for use as a part of an automobile clock constructed accordingto the disclosures of my said application, I do not limit myself to itsuse with the elements, constructions and combinations of the electricautomobile clock of that application, except where so recited in theclaims, as the present improvements are susceptible of use in connectionwith any clock.

The clock of my said application, Serial No.' 871,032 is particularlyintended for automobile, railway, and marine service in any situationwhere the clock is subject to vibration, shock or jar. To that end thesaid clock is disclosed in the said application as having a shell orcase, a self-contained clock frame movement carried thereby, containedwithin the shell or case, and shock absorbing springs interposed betweenthe frame of the movement and the shell or case. A bezel and spacer areemployed to hold the clock movement frame in the shell or case and theshock absorbing springs under compression.

In my earlier application, Serial No. 869,014, filed October 28, 1914,the cushioning and shock absorbing springs are shown as combined withthe frame of the clock movement and the shell or case substantially asshown in my application, Serial No. 871,032, of which the presentapplication is a division.

The present invention represents improve- -ments comprising removable orreleasable stop devices, such as screws, on the shell or case whichnormally do not engage the frame of the clock movement or resist itstendency to hold the bezel in position, but which will engage the frameof the movement when'the bezel is removed, so that the clock movementwill be retained in the shell or case even when the bezel is taken 01f,thus permitting the hands to be set without danger of the entiremovement springing out of the shellor case by reason of the expansion ofthe shock absorbing springs. The stops constituting the presentimprovements may be loosened or retracted, however, to permit the entireclock movement to be bodily taken out of the shell or case.

The subject-matter constituting the subject of the present inventionconsists, therefore, in the combination with the shell or case, theclock movement, the cushioning or shock absorbing springs, and thebezel, of releasable means for holding the movement in the shell orcase, against the ejecting action of the springs, when the bezel isremoved.

I wish it understood that I do not limit the present invention to theelectric clock movement and the precise construction and arrangement ofthe shock absorbing springs set forth in my applications, Serial Nos.

869,014 and 871,032, nor do I, except where expressed in the claims,limit myself to the specific stop screws hereinafter described, becauseI am well aware that other'releasable, retractable or removable stopdevices could be used in the same combination and to obtain the sameresult.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 is a section through a clockconstructed according to the disclosures of my application, Serial No.871,032, with the present improvements combined therewith; Fig. 2, asimilar View the bezel being removed and the stop devices holding theclock movement frame in position; and Fig. 3, a detail section showingthe position of the parts when the bezel is unscrewed and removed andthe frame of the clock is free of the stops.

The shell or case 1 has a screw-threaded part 2 onto which the bezel 3screws. There is a spacer shell 6 adapted to engage the dial plate 7 ofthe frame 8, 9, 11, which carries the clock movement. A plurality ofpillars 37 are carried by the plate 11 and are surrounded by coilsprings 38 whose inner ends 39 are cramped and engage with the pillarsto hold the said springs in position, but at the same time permittingthem to freely expand or contract on the pillars. These p g onst tuteshock absorb n devices taken out.

which are adapted to pressagainst the rear end of the case 1 and tothereby hold the entire frame of the movement pressed outwardly so thatthe dial 7 is held against the spacer shell 6.

My present improvements consist in the provision of stops 40 combinedwith the frame of the clock movement and normally arranged so that theyare slightly free of contact with the clock movement frame, the plate11. thereof, for instance, when the parts are in normal position, asshown in Fig. 1. This freedom from normal engage ment of the stops 40and plate 11 permits the springs 38 to perform their cushioning andshock absorbing functions and to tightly hold the bezel againstunscrewing, under normal conditions. \Vhen the bezel is un-- screwed,were the stops 40not provided, the springs 38 would tend to throw themovement outwardly. Consequently, whenever it was desired to set thehands t1 by first unscrewing the bezel to permit access to said hands,the movement would tend to spring out of the shell or case 1. With theprovision of the stops L0, however, thisis prevented. Oonsequently, whenthe bezel and glass are taken off to set the hands 11, the forwardmovement of the cloclrframe is ar rested by the stops 40. Ifit isdesired to entirely remove the movement from the shell 1, the stops 40can be retracted until they clear the plate 11, whereupon the entiremovement, including the spr1ngs38, can be Preferably, the stops 450 arein the form of *screwswhich are threaded throu h the walls of the shell1 so that their tips will be in position to engageand ari'est'the plate11.. I am well aware, however, that these stops could be provided asspring actuat ed, re-

tractable members or as other forms of pins and I do not limit myself toscrews except where stated in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire. tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a clock, the combination with a shell or case, of a clock movementtherein, cushioning spring means interposed between the shell or caseand the movement, a dial plate, a removable bezel against which the dialplate of the movement is normally held by said springs, and releasablemeans for holding the movement in the shell or case when the bezel isremoved.

2. In a clock, the combination with a shell or case, of a clock movementtherein, cushioning spring means interposed between the shell or caseand the movement, a dial plate, a removable bezel against which the dialplate of the movement is normally held by said springs, and retractablestops carried by the case and normally out of engagement rith the frameof the clock movement and adapted to engage said frame when the bezel isremoved.

3. In a clock, the combination with a shell or case, of a clock movementtherein, cush-' ioning spring means interposed between the shell or caseand the movement, a dlal plate,

'a removable bezel against which the dial WILLIAM H; THOMPSON.

" Witnesses V. B. HoUs'roN,

JOHN W. FARLEY.

Cdpies'of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

. Washington, D. C.

